Website Design – Less is More

Written by: Gary Horsman

That which is less complicated is often better understood and more appreciated than what is more complicated; simplicity is preferable to complexity; brevity in communication is often more effective.

Website Design – Often Less is More

Many people think that creating a website is about what to have on the site. Certainly content is very important. I am not going to make a case that you need to scale back on your content. Rather, I want to inspire you to think about how to create content where the message is crystal clear. Where there is no “fluff”. Where there are no extra words placed on the page or in the post to “attract” the search engines.

I want to get you to think about how to create a simple and effective message that delights your visitors. If you delight your visitors then you will be taking care of how to attract the search engines.

The key point is that once your have created your content. Step back from it. The look at it again with fresh eyes and think about how your can cut out some of what you put in to make it easier and better for the reader.

Here are two images to illustrate the point.

In the first image it is quite clear and easy to understand what the biggest idea is.

In the second image it is rather difficult to understand the main point and the item that is most important.

I see this all the time. People want to jam as much as they can into a website page, a blog post, an e-mail or a slide. I suppose we are all too busy to help our reader save time and we do not edit and refine our own work.

A well known quote . . .

I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter. (Probable author: Blaise Pascal)

Good website design is based on the fundamental acceptance that less truly is more when it comes to building a site. It doesn’t matter whether you run a personal blog for insurance or if you have a full-service online store; no website will be functional or visually appealing if it is cluttered and over-done.

Using a minimalist design is the best way to design a website. While it may seem that all the empty space is wasted, it’s not. By having more content on your website, you can easily confuse and distract readers from what is truly important for them to see. On the other hand, leaving more white space allows the viewer to zone in on the text or graphics on your website that you want them to see. If you look around on the internet, you’ll find plenty of examples of both good and bad website design. If you visit a site that has too much information on it, how does it make you feel? Overwhelmed and confused? This is exactly my point.

You don’t want your viewers to navigate away from your site or miss out on the important aspects because they’re distracted or overwhelmed by content that isn’t necessary. It is much better to design a site that has bold titles, necessary text and graphics, and only a few extra elements (if any).

Good website design is essential to the success of your business; without an effective website, you can’t generate the interest and customers that you need for your business to succeed.

I recommend using pages that can easily be scanned and then to provide links down to deeper more in-depth content and let your visitors decide if they want to spend more time with the deeper content. Make it available to them while make the path to reach it simple and easy for them to understand.

Website design where less is more – your visitors will appreciate both the simplicity and the depth of content and your business will be rewarded.